Savvy real-estate agents often advise their budget-minded clients to buy the ugliest house on the best block they can afford. I certainly did that. When I purchased a new home recently, I found a diamond in the rough —very rough.

Entombed in '50s aluminum siding, this turn-of-the-20th-century farmhouse didn't have much curb appeal. From its sagging front porch to its scraggly lawn to a graveled strip between the sidewalk and the street, turning this hovel into a home has been a challenge.

Although there hasn't been much cash to spend on making a new garden, I've come up with precepts for sprucing up the yard that can pay off both economically and cosmetically. Here are seven tips to create beauty on a budget:

1. "Cheap" is not a bargain.

Save up for important things — tools, fences, furnishings, containers, paving — and buy or build long-lasting items. Investing in quality can help you avoid the labor of having to replace items all too soon.

If you're the handy type, you can save bundles by crafting and installing elements yourself. I removed my straggly lawn by hand. All it took was time — and several economy-size bottles of pain reliever.

2. Buy smaller plants.

Nursery-grown plants can be pricey, and there are good reasons why: A gallon-size or quart-size perennial usually represents at least two years' work by the nursery staff — starting as a seed, cutting or division, with daily attention to watering and fertilization. And that doesn't count energy costs, which can be staggering.

I have no quarrel with the prices at the nursery — but I still have to count my pennies. When I started my new garden, I developed a loose two-year plan. A few hundred dollars went for 5-gallon shrubs — blue mist spirea (Caryopteris), lilac, purpleleaf sand cherry (Prunus x cisterna), butterfly bush (Buddleia) and shrub roses. I splurged a further hundred dollars on young perennials.

Forgoing the gallons, I concentrated on economical 3-inch and 2 1/4-inch containers. Some plants aren't available in these small sizes because of their extensive root systems. Peonies, ornamental grasses, yuccas, Japanese anemones and monkshood are mostly offered in gallon sizes and larger. Nurseries usually order these plants in as "liners": two-year-old bare-root plants from wholesalers.

3. Shop end-of-season sales.